'Feasting with Faculty' creates connections between students and instructors

(From left) Statistics faculty member Ellen Gundlach and students Courtney Woods and Jodie Cha finish up a "Feastiing with Faculty" meeting.

For the past year, Purdue University College of Science
faculty have found a delicious and nutritious way to connect with students in
their large lecture halls — take them to lunch. A handful of professors from
Statistics, Biological Sciences, Mathematics, Chemistry and Physics invite
their students to lunch at nearby dining halls for informal discussions and
good eats.

Stats lecturer Ellen Gundlach says the "Feasting with
Faculty" program is an easy and fun way to get to know her students. And
once the initial nervousness goes away, the students feel more dialed in during
classes after these lunches.

Gundlach took two sophomores in her STAT 113 class to
Windsor Dining Hall. While chicken and dumplings were on special, Jodie Cha and
Courtney Woods learned that their lecturer was on the
Lafayette Brawlin’ Dolls roller berby team in 2012, and she worked at a movie theater when she was
in school, just like Woods’ part-time job at Wabash Landing 9. Also during the lunch, Cha mentioned her cousin is a ref for a roller derby team in Washington state and he married a skater on the team. That's two commonalities the students and faculty member would have never known if not for "Feasting with Faculty."

It was an enlightening meeting as both instructor and
student came away with more of a connection than they would just sitting in a
500-seat lecture hall.

Students are encouraged to sign up with their instructor for
these weekly lunches. Gundlach’s meals are from noon to a little before 1 p.m.
on Tuesdays.